Pneumatic elevator



Aug. 9

T. G. VAUGHN PNEUMATIC ELEvA'ron Filed March 17 1924` 2 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 17, 192e. 1,596,261

T. c. VAUGHN PNEUMATIC ELVATOR Filed 1v1 n 1v, 1924 2 sheets-sheet 2' Patented Aug. 17,1926.

i.tifsrraen lier-aars.

i tsaazi TIMOTHY C. VAUGHN, OF MORRIS, MINNESOTA.

IPNEUMATIC ELEVATOR.

Application. filed. March 17,1192'4.. fSeria1-No.-v699,881;f

.A showing the =in1proved pneumatic elevator;

.'Fig. 2-is a left sideelevation of thesarne ;v

'F 3 is a viewfpartly in plan and partly in Vhorizontal section 'taken fo-n. the Zline 3 3l of Fig. 2;

.Fig t is a view principally in transverse verticalsection taken `on the line ff-A'of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a detail view with some parts sectioned onitheline. 5--5 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 6 is a detail view principallyinsection taken on the line'6-6 of=Fig. 1;

F-ig. 7 isa perspectiveviewofithehopper box and joint plate; and

Fig. 8 isa transversesection takenonthe lineS-S of Fig..1. y

The numeral 10 indicates-acylindricaly fan vcasing Vhaving at its'bottoin a tangential horizontally disposed `discharge 'throat `11,

' the flat-bottoni of which is `upwardly inclined away from said fan casing fand affords a deck 12. VA stack 13 is connected tothe delivery end of thedischarge throat 11 by an elbow 14. As shown, the upper sectionof the discharge throat 11 isniade detachable from thelower'section thereof, for the sal-:e of convenience. .It is importa-nt to note that the upper end portion A of the .p deck l2 has a greater inclination rthan the vlower portion B thereof. Itis' alsoirnportant to note that the deck 12 extends in front of the intake of the discharge throat 11V and above the top thereof. y'Formed in the `upper section'of the deck 12, near the lower end thereof, is a transverse-grain release opening 15 vnormally closed by Ya sliding .gate 16. "The fancasing 10 and the connected lower s'eotiont of the discharge throat '11 are mount- ;ed within arectangular base lcomprising .sideand end sills.

lVithin the fan casingy lO is an-fundershot fanlS, the shaft 19 of which is mounted in On thev leftehan-d end ofthe shaft 19, outward of the fan-.casingr 10, is fa. pulley .7.21zover which runs aY belt, not shown, for ...driving the fan18.in therdirection of the arrows marked thereon in Fig. v1, to deliver arblast of air through .the discharge throat .11, elbow 14;' and stack 13.

Cooperating with'the'blast of air travelling through the-discharge throat 11, -for carrying the y grain upward through the stack 13, is a horizontally disposed` paddle wheel22that extends transversely over the top 'of the discharge throat11. The paddles `orblades of thispaddle wheel 22iare back wardly curved. in respectto their direction oftraVel, Yas. indicated by larrows inarked thereon in IFig. `l, for ajpurpose that will Y presently rappear. AIhe'paddle wheel 22l is -rnounted in a housing 23 on'a shaft'2l journaled..invbeari-ngs onthe sides ofzsaid hous- .ing lfThis housing-23 is'carrie'd `on the dis- `chargethroat llland its top.1s.:on a curve,

.the center of which is atthe axis 4ofthe paddle wheel 22, so-'thatftheblades of said wheel are closely positioned to the top. The -botto1n25 off the housing. 23 forms a part of '-,thetop of the discharge throat 11and is in the forno. of alplate that extends oblique- Vly upward. and rearwardfrorn underthe paddle wheel :22. This bottoni plate 25 has its rearend securedv tozthe'ho-using23 by hinges 26,' for radial Vswinging rnoveinent in- `to the discharge throat llin respect to the paddle wheel22. The free or frontend of the-'bottom yplate 25 'extends slightlyforward of a vertical plane projectingthrough theaXis yof .thepaddle wheel 22, and this ortion-ofsaid-bottoin plate is curved to .follow theblades of the paddle wheel. The

.bearings20 onthe longitudinal'sills'of the rbase17.

space between the top. ofthe dischargef throat 11 and the vfree end of the bottoni plate 25 affords a portl 27through which grain is .discharged by the paddle wheel 22 y.into the dischargek throat 11.

Positioning .sto-ps 28 vliniit the swinging :inovernentyof thevbottornplate 25 toward the paddle wheel 22. The bot-torn plate 25 is `yieldingly heldagainst thepositic-ning` stops said feed spont, and which rotation, also causes the grain to move through the feed spout section 38 trom which it is precipitated onto the inclined bottom ot the hopper box 4S. From. thence the grain moves under the. action otgravity into the housing 23 through the outlet openinge, and at which time it is acted on by the agitator fingers 49. rlhe grain in the housing 223i is acted on by the spiral blades ot the agita-tor 63 and moved thereunder and downward on the inclined bottom plate to the paddle wheel l*1 rom thence the movement or" the grain on. rthe inclined bottom plateA is contained by the action ot' the backwardly curved blades oil the )addle wheel 22 thereon and moved to the outer edge portion ot said bot'- tom plate, and 'from thence it isthrown by said. blades through the port 2T and into the blast ot air moving through the discharge throat l1.

Ythe backwardzly curved blades of the paddle wheel 22. are highly important for the reason that they draw out of the grain at the. time the saine is discharged through the port 2T, and it is possi-ble with this form ot blade to drivefthe paddle wheel 22 at a relatively high speed for the reason that there is no danger of carry-ing grain thereover. n

Due to the diilerent specific gravity or" the .grain in the housing, a separation thereof takes place, at the time the grain is thrown l v the paddle wheel 22 into the discharge hroat ll, and in which separation the grain fetales to different depths in the discharge il ront ll, and the' heaviest of said grainis arried just over the deck 12 by that portion ot the blast ot air having the greatest velocity. rllhis separation ot the grain is highly important as it materially increases the capacitv of the elevator as-the grain is .irried through the entire transverse area oi the discharge throat ll and takes much less power to move the same.

The inwardly inclined deck l2 is highly important for the reason that the blast of air roin the tan strikes the same obliquely and thceby easily moves any deposit of grain thereon. ln case the grain starts to pile up on the deck l2, the blast of air from the fan will move the same, tiret Vby picking up he grain farthest away and carrying the ame through the discharge throat l1 to the tack until the entire pile is removed. This piling ot grain takes placel due to va- -ious dilerent causes. For instance, in case rie elevator is operated by an explosive en- 'ine and the speed dies down suicient-ly to reduce the blast of air and thus allow a por-` tion of the grain to be precipitated onto the neck 12,01' a stick, nail or lother foreign ina-iter will oi'ten cause the grain to pile up; owing tothe peculiar shape ot my deck, grain will never ,ile up so high as to entirely choke the discharge. throat 1l dur.- ing the ,operation of the elevator. By making the deck l2 fiat, rthe grain passing thereover or thereon is kept spread out to the full width ot the discharge throat and, he. ce, can be mach more, easily moved by the blast oit air and with 'an increased capacity than'iit thedeck were inadeconcave. ln case the grain piles up on. the deck l2 vIiiciently to entirely choke' the discharge throat, which might take place when the machine is stopped, lthis grain can be re.` moved suiiiciently to allow the blast oli airto pass thereover by opening theY sliding gate 1GV andl allowing'a portion of the `grain to flow outward through the release opening l5.

rlhc purpose ot the vent G7 isrto. releae any back pressure that may be. produced in the stack i3 and carried into the housing 23 by t-he blades ot the paddle wheel 22. lVithout this vent, the movement otlight grains would be materially retarded by back; pressure.

in case a piece ot foreign matter gets into the housing 23, such as a nail', piece of metal or a stick, and passes under the paddle wheel 22, the bottom plate 25 will yield' and allow said foreign matter to be discharged into the discharge throat 'll without damagel ing the elevator or atiectingthe operation thereof. rssoon as the foreign matter has pivscd. from the bottom plate 25, it Vwill be immediately returned to normal position by the's'pring 29. By operating the hand screws 7l, the bottom plate 25 may be adjusted raf. i

dially toward orrfrom the paddle wheel 22 to adjust the machine fory diilferent kinds ort materials to be elevated. q

rl`he above described pneumatic elevator has, in actual usage, proven highly eiiioient torA the purpose had in view.

Vilhat I claim is: l

i. In a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a tan casing having a discharge throat, the bottom of which is upwardly inclined away from the bottom et'A said-casing to afiiord a deck, of a stack leadingtrom said dischargethroat, an undershot tan mounted 'in said casing and arranged to deliver a blast of air through they discharge throat, the greater volume of which travels oversaid upwardly inclined deck, said discharge throat having a port at its top, and means for discharging grain through said port and into the blast ot' airfrom the tan, the in clination of' said deck being progressively greater from the bottom of the casing to a point above said port.

2. In a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a fan casing having a dischargel throat, the bottom of rwhich is upwardly inclined awaytrom the bottom oi said casing to afford a declnvvot a stack leading -trom said discharge throat, an under-shot fan mounted in saidcasing andarranged to deliver a blast of air through said discharge throat, the greater' volume of which travels over said upwardly inclined deck, a paddle wheel housing having` a discharge port opening into the top ot the discharge throat, and a revoluble paddle wheel mounte-d in said housing` and arranged to deliver grain through said port and into the blast or' air, said deck having an inclination that is progressively greater from the bottom of the casing to a point above the bottom et the paddle wheel housing.

3. In a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a tan casing having a discharge throat, the bottom ot which is upwardly inclined away 'from the bottom ot said casing to afford a deck, ot a stack leading from said discharge throat, an undershot 'fan mounted in said casing and arranged to deliver a blast of air through said discharge throat, the greater volume ot which travels over said upwardly inclined deck, a paddle wheel housing having a discharge port opening into the top ot the discharge throat, and a revoluble paddle wheel mounted in said housing and arranged to deliver grain through said port and into the blast ot air, said paddle wheel housing having a yielding bottom plate forming a section ot the discharge throat and arranged to move toward and from said paddle wheel housing.

et. The structure defined in claim 3 in turther combination with adjustable means tor limiting the movement or" the bottom plate toward the paddle wheel.

5. In a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a tan casing having a discharge throat, the bottom of which is upwardly in clined away trom the bottom ot said casing to atford a decl, of a stack leading from said discharge throat, an undershot fan mounted rin said casing and arranged to deliver a blast ot air through said discharge throat, the greater volume et which travels over said upwardly inclined deck, a paddle wheel housing having a discharge port opening into the top ot the discharge throat, and a revoluble paddle wheel mounted in said housing and arranged to deliver grain through said port and into the blast of air, said paddle wheel housing having a bottom plate hinged at its rear edge for swinging movement into the discharge throat, the front edge oit said bottom plate forming the lower edge of the discharge port, in further combination with yielding means holding the bottom plate in normal position.

6. ln a pneumatic elevator', the combination with a fan casing having a horizontally disposed discharge throat, ot a stach leading from said throat, a lian mounted in said casing and arranged to deliver a blast ot air through said throat and into the stack, paddle wheel housing having a hinged bottom plate arranged to swing radially away from the paddle wheel, positioning stops for said bottom plate, a cross bar supporting said bottom plate and projecting through vertical slots in the sides ot said throat, and springs acting on the outer ends of said bar to yieldingly hold the bottom plate against the positioning stops.

7. ln a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a fan casing having a horizontally disposed discharge throat, et a stack leading Jfrom said throat, a fan mounted in said easing and arranged to deliver a blast of air through said throat and into the stack, a paddle wheel housing having a hinged bottom plate arranged to swing radially away from the paddle wheel, positioning stops for said bottom plate, a cross bar supporting said bottom plate and projecting through vertical slots in the sides ot said throat, spring bases on the sides of saidthroat, and coiled springs compressed between the ends et said bar and spring bases and yieldingly holding said bottom plate against the positioning stops.

S. ln pneumatic elevator, the combination with a'staclr, ot a fan arranged to deliver a blast oi' air through the stack, a housing forward olf the fan, a paddle wheel mounted in the housing radially forward or' the tan, an agitator mounted in said housing radially rearward of the paddle wheel, and means for driving the paddle wheel and agitator in the same direction, said agitator being arranged to move grain thereunder on the bottom of said housing and deliver the same under the paddle wheel 'which continues said movement of the grain on the bottom ot the housing and discharges the same into the blast of air from the tan.

9. In a pneumatic elevator, the combination with a stach, oia fan arranged to deliver a blast of air through the stach, paddle wheel housing, a paddle wheel journaled in said housing, means for driving the paddle whee in a direction to deliver grain into the stack, an agitator working in said housing` directly back of the paddle wheel and arranged to feed grain to the pads le wheel, said paddle wheel and agitator being rotated in the same direction and arranged to move the grain thereunder and on the bottom ot said housing, and vent stach leading from the paddle wheel housing back of the agitator.

l0. Ina pneumatic elevator, the combination with a stach, of a fan arranged to deliver a blast of air through the stack, a paddle wheel housingua paddle wheel journaled in said housing, means for driving said paddle wheelin a direction to deliver grain into the stach, a hopper box arranged to discharge into the paddle wheel housing, a feed' spout having at one end a joint plate mounted in the hopper box for angular movementl and closing the same except tor said feed spout, and a vertically adjustable support for the other end of the feed spout.

ll. In a pneumatic elevator, the Combination with a stack, of a fan arranged to deliver a blast of air through the stack, a paddle Wheel housing, a paddle Wheel journaled in Said housing, means for driving the paddle Wheel in a direction to deliver grain into the stack, said housing having a movable bottom plate, and means for adjusting said 10 bottom plate toward and from the paddle Wheel.. y f

12. The Structure defined in Claim ll in which the movable bottom plate is yieldingly held. l5 In testimony whereof I affix my Signature.

TIMOTHY C. VAUGHN. 

